Previous Notes

Living in your mind is like living in a sand castle. When the wind blows or the ocean roars, you become homeless- Grasshopper

Talking to yourself inside your head is a major part of the human
condition. Some call it thinking. We come out from this seemingly
private fortress to interact with others or to give our attention to
something like the material in a book, the music being played, or to
the content of a movie or TV show. Then we go right back inside to this
noisy nest.

Did you ever notice that Reality doesn’t ask your opinion before taking action?
Reality does what it does and we have a reaction. We may be elated if
Reality has us win the Grasshopper High Jump Sweepstakes or deflated if
we have the losing ticket.

A person filled with anger focuses on whose fault it is rather than seeking a solution- Grasshopper

Blame is a universal dysfunction of the human mind. The underlying notion of blame is that a set of circumstances has to be someone’s fault. The natural offshoot of that idea is that someone has to pay. And one of the built in protection mechanisms we have determines that the person paying the tab will not be me.

When can you ever remember the "sweetness" of revenge lasting for more than a moment? Just how quickly does satisfaction disappear after you tell your boss to stuff it where the sun doesn't shine? I can tell you from personal experience that it feels great to speak your mind that way. Then you are immediately faced with no job and no paycheck.

Some people would rather be right than happy. And preferring to be right, they are left out- Grasshopper

Many states in the USA have traffic circles. I've driven around most of them. By law, the driver whose car is in the circle has the right of way. If there is a huge truck approaching the circle on one of the feeder roads, the driver in the circle still has the right of way. The oncoming truck is required to yield to the car in the circle.

How do you unwind? Is it with a glass of wine, a shower, a chat with a friend or spouse? Do you take a nap, read something, meditate, or do you take a walk or jog? These are some of the things people do to relax.

Surrender takes you to a peaceful place of transformation- Grasshopper

Suppose you are afraid of needles and are compelled to get one because of necessary travel to a country that requires inoculation. Four Sumo Wrestlers appear out of nowhere and hold you down so you don't run away in fear. Do you struggle against these giants? Most people do. Does that make any sense?

If your only nourishment comes from the Caldron of Culture, you will always have a soup stain on your shirt - Grasshopper

It looks like a fancy restaurant, but it's only a soup kitchen. That's culture. Culture never invents anything; it reflects the mostly superficial wants and desires of its club members. We all have membership in culture – even hermits.

Have you ever caught sight of yourself in a mirror and said something like, "I look just like my father/mother"? Have you ever caught yourself in the middle of a mannerism and said the exact same thing? It happens all the time.

Whatever you're holding on to for dear life is an impediment to learning something new. Something knew is better than something known. If you allow your knowing to become past tense and short-lived, then new discoveries will thrive.

When you say, "I'll never get over it" or "used to it," you're referring to the thought, not the event- Grasshopper

Those thoughts come from your ego, not you. Thoughts from the real you will never keep you stuck. Additionally, you will never fully appreciate life until you discover that it's not your life to begin with. Just this subtle shift of awareness will have you making less attempts at getting used to things, and open you to inspiration that gets you unstuck - moving you forward in life.

Is it possible that The Grasshopper has ruffled some feathers with this pronouncement? I immediately had objections to this gift from G-force, so I just sat with it for a moment. Then the truth behind the words became clear.

Everytime you see a rock or a stone, you are seeing a piece of the whole. It looks like it has always been a separate entity but that's never the case. We think of other people as separate from us, but that also is never the case.

If You Have No Thoughts in Your Head, You Have No Problems- Grasshopper

That may be a foreign thought to many, but the simplicity of The Grasshopper's message bears further investigation. Problems are interpretations of reality. Problems are mind made manifestations. And problems get in the way of solutions.

The closest life comes to having an undo button is an apology. It shows respect, mends wounds, and opens a door for forgiveness to walk through. We rarely apologize effectively, causing our offense to be even more offensive.

Impatience is a conscious effort to speed up the timetable of the Universe. This activity is folly and extreme hubris wrapped together and brandished as a weapon – one that even windmills aren't afraid of.

“The Devil Made Me Do It” Is More Than A Comedian’s Legacy- Grasshopper

The late comedian, Flip Wilson popularized the above phrase during a recurring skit on his TV show. It comically connoted that something else was the cause for your shenanigans. This concept has more truth than meets the "take responsibility for your own actions" eye.

From the time we discover our humanness to the time when our name is inscribed on polished stone, there is an ever present opportunity to wipe the sleep out of our eyes and see what's always been there – life.

You Have to Let Go of What Was in Order to Get to What Is- Grasshopper

"What was" intentions put too much of our attention on the past. The ego loves this because it has succeeded in convincing us that we can change the past and control the uncontrollable. We can't. "What is" puts our intention and attention on our present reality and what's possible.

Best I can guess, everyone goes the same place when they die – let's call it heaven. The trick is to visit heaven as often as you can while you're living, so you can feel the aliveness of having no thoughts.

The biggest blind spot we have as human beings is that we think that we live life. We live under the illusion of control. The opposite is true – life lives us. It's a reality. Here's another well kept secret: This animating force of life drives us, but as a passenger we cannot demand, but only suggest a route.

Redefining Reality Is A Full Time Job That Pays Paltry Wages- Grasshopper

Even the highest paid interpreters at the United Nations fail to communicate meaning. We also fail to find the illusive carrot called "meaning" when we continue to interpret reality and attempt to sell our definition of it as holy doctrine.

How often have we interpreted reality to mean something other than what it is? If we ever apply reason to reason, we will find that it's a coping mechanism we use waiting for the piece of reality that we desire to show up.

I’m wondering if you can remember how confident you felt when you actually studied for a test? It’s a much better feeling than having to struggle for answers, and it produces a better mindset with better results. The same is true in life.

There is an old song whose title says it all, "I'm On The Outside Looking In." If you're judging, you remain detached from actual feelings and live in isolation with the mental constructs of right and wrong.

We as humans are the sum total of common routines that we’ve learned and automated. This is how we and others determine who we are. It’s such a cursory look that misses our depth. Our depth is what’s normal.

We've all heard the cheesy line from a movie where the character says. "I want to be somebody." The thing most often overlooked is that they are already somebody – somebody they don't want to be. They want to be more.

TRUE or FALSE: One belief that will keep you glued to the exam chair is that Fate or God or some other all encompassing force is testing you. The answer to that question is always TRUE because, frankly, Fate/God/Reality/(insert your euphemism here) doesn’t care.

Have you ever uttered the words, "I never expected that to happen to me"? But, for better or worse, it did happen and you met reality. This is a close encounter of the human kind that when recognized and given proper attention, causes a shift – one that helps us find a hidden gear.

We all know expressions like, "The rich get richer" and "if it weren't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all," but we never investigate the process, only rail against the reality. This practice signifies a clogged filter.

It's a difficult concept to grasp but the past does not exist. The remnants of the past are just that – remnants. When we call the trail of the comet the comet itself, we have mislabeled the past as the present.

I admit that I'm not a big fan of hope. I have it in the "wish" category and have rarely seen evidence of it working. With that said, there is a human need for hope. So how do you get it back when it's in short supply?

If you listen to the conversations in the deli line, at a local bar or to the needs of a person in therapy, the common thread seems to be the goal of an unchallenged life. It’s this quest for the middle that dulls our desires.

Guilt And Shame Are Not The Same: One Triggers An Apology The Other Cannot Muster- Grasshopper

It has intrigued me for a number of years that a certain portion of the population has trouble apologizing. From my vantage point, it's always been about immaturity, but it goes deeper than that for some. It's about shame.

No matter how good of a parent you are, may have been or will be, your children, somewhere along the way, hated you. In fact, no matter how sainted you are you've hated someone for a time. The time has come to put hate in perspective.

The principal reason we give for sticking to our guns is that we won't compromise our principles. The proposed notion we are rejecting, out of hand, is often a result of failing to recognize what the other side is attempting to get us to see: "These aren't your father's principles."

Where is the state of flow on the map? If not shown on a map, what are its GPS coordinates? The problem is you can't get there from here. There is no official route to the state of flow, but it's an unmistakable feeling when you arrive.

From experience, I can say with certainty that there are close quarters onboard U.S. Naval vessels, especially in the passageways. When someone needs to get by quickly, or for emergency purposes, the phrase they say rather loudly is: “Make a hole.”

My hobby is photography. I find that the best photographs I take are of people, creatures and things I care about. You can’t manufacture care but you can cultivate appreciation, which paves the way towards care.

I learned a long time ago that "depression" doesn't exist. That doesn't mean that we don't get depressed; it simply means that depression is only a description of the process of how we depress ourselves. That process requires action on our part.

Happy Accidents Are Realities That Are Labeled As Coincidences- Grasshopper

The best definition I ever heard for coincidences came from Wayne Dyer in his book, "The Power of Intention." He wrote, "The word coincidence does not describe luck or mistakes. It describes that which fits together perfectly."

The job of the headline is to get attention. The National Enquirer has the best headlines, but most of their stories lose your attention quickly. That’s because keeping attention needs lots of attention.

There is a war going on within us every day. It’s not good vs. evil, although that’s what many would have us believe. The battle that rages is between what we know and what we think we know. Like all battles, a cease fire or surrender is necessary in order for peace to have a chance.

Who was the best boxer, ice skater, swimmer, artist, singer, actor, guitarist, photographer, philosopher . . . ? Who's better at (fill in the blank)? What's a good place to go to eat? All of these questions have multiple answers and they often provide fuel for countless fires.

3 years ago I chose not to renew my subscription to the newspaper. I wasn’t reading it, I didn’t have dead fish I needed to wrap, and it was causing me to put out more recycling than was necessary on trash day. What will you renew that won’t benefit you in 2012?

My experience is that so few events live up to their advertising. That's because we expect events to produce the juice in our lives, but they never squeeze out enough to sustain us. Then we go off seeking another event.

“Is” can’t be contained or confined by ideology or belief and it never engages in backbiting or pledges to have anyone’s back. “Is” is neither right or wrong - it’s both, plus everything else that won’t be invited to either campground.

Looking back can be a fun and sometimes be an eye opening experience. When it's your primary focus, your life is tied to the past and not moving forward. The only place you can free yourself from the inertia of the past is in the present.

I had one of those dreams last night. You know the kind . . . where you are about to be chased and eaten by a wooly mammoth. (OK, so your dream is a bit different, but what our dreams have in common is that sometimes they express our fears).

Accepting Another’s Happiness Is A Prerequisite For You To Claim Yours- Grasshopper

I heard something years ago that has stuck with me - "Don't envy what someone has; emulate it." If someone else is happy, be happy for them because happiness is not a frequent visitor to any of us, and the sooner you feel it for them, the sooner you open up to it for you.

I believe we take too many steps to get where we want to go; we rarely take the most direct route. That may be because of a lack of knowledge, bullheadedness or something else, but each of those pathways is a detour away from a simpler life.

It takes tremendous bravery to resolve to do something. The trouble is that resolve can only get you started; it always fades towards the finish and needs help from a stronger ally to complete its mission.

Helping Someone Into A Healing Frame Of Mind Heals A Part Of You- Grasshopper

Healing, by my definition, is helping someone into a frame of mind where healing can happen. You don’t need a formal education to be a healer, just the willingness to walk with someone until they discover the path.

If You Cannot Support Someone’s Dream, Don’t Stand In Their Way- Grasshopper

We all have different dreams for our lives. As preferences would have it, we are often conditioned not to support a dream different than ours for someone close. That’s OK, but get out of their way or they will steamroll you.

Whenever You Get Ahead Of Yourself, You’re Sure To Fall Behind- Grasshopper

You can't play the 18th hole of a golf course when you're on the 16thfairway. If you mentally start something else, while in the middle of whatyou're currently doing, the present moment loses its biggest asset – Attention.

Successful Lives Are A Series Of Adjustments Rather Than Wholesale Changes- Grasshopper

When people tell me they want to change, they are usually looking at a LARGE mountain and rarely make it past the foothills. That's because change is too big a chunk; adjustments are bite-sized and more easily digested.

When You Only Cite, What You Are Saying Comes Across As Trite- Grasshopper

I love a good quote and, like you, I have my favorites. Where a red flag goes up is when I experience someone who is forever telling me what someone else said. They may as well say, “My creativity is dead.”

"What are my options?" is a question I don't believe we ask enough. My guess is we don't ask because we think there aren't any, or that, if there are, there is no option that would work. Remaining stuck is the result of not asking.

Have you ever gone out to eat with someone who finds fault with every restaurant you go to? They were upset before they arrived and are hard pressed to see it's not the bill of fare that has, as my sainted mother said, "their ass in an uproar."

Reasons are justifications in another suit of clothes, especially when we make less than productive choices. They are often attempts at explanations to absolve us of responsibility for behavior. Notice how often you use reasons when you want a second chance.

Often when people tell me what they want, I ask a follow-up question like: "What will that do for you?" If their answer has any form of the phrase "that means" in it, they will often be disappointed even if they achieve their goal.

We are all aging. You can take that to the bank. “Age is just a number” we’ve often heard said. Yet, too many have become focused on how many minutes they’ve been alive or how many they have left until they’re dead.

Are you in the habit of giving reasons for your behavior? The un-refuted truth is that most of your reasons have an infinite amount of counterarguments which, when played out, lead to a life of arguing.

If you pay careful attention to your language when expressing your desires, you’re likely to notice that you too often give voice to what you don’t want rather than what you do want. That’s a fuzzy target.

The One Thing To Know For Sure Is That Nothing Is A Sure Thing- Grasshopper

We all get into “set and forget”mode with many things. It’s useful that we don’t have to figure out how to turn a doorknob each time we encounter one; it’s less than useful to be certain about something that can’t be known for sure.

Most of us are not conditioned to ask tough questions. "It's just not done in a polite society," may be the message you were weaned on, but that's often a bad formula when you need an actionable answer.

Fernando
Flores once said, “Hope
is the raw material for losers.” My definition isn’t as harsh but just as
hopeless. “Hope is the salve we put on our feelings while we’re waiting for
reality to render its result.”

I often hear people talk about things they lost that they didn't have. "Because that deal didn't go through, I lost a lot of money." More accurately, you didn't make the money. You didn't lose it because it was never in your pocket.

The Greek Philosopher Heraclitus told us, “The only thing that is constant is change.”
Yet, there are many things that seem constantly stationary and only appear to change
in waves. Do you believe Heraclitus or your own lyin’ eyes?

If Your Path To The Future Is The Same One You’ve Been On, You Have Your Future Now.- Grasshopper

The old adage that “tomorrow is
promised to no one” only suggests the possibility that you may not be around
tomorrow. If you happen to make it until tomorrow, the promise is this: Your
future won’t be any different if the path you’re on is the same.

It does takes more than followers to be a
leader. It takes initiative, a clear vision and the ability to communicate
intrinsic enthusiasm. Once you have those qualities in place, followers will
find you.

If You’re Not Interested In The Answer, Don’t Ask The Question- Grasshopper

How many “make conversation” questions do we
ask? More importantly, how often do we tune out when getting the answer?One of the biggest impediments to
communication I’ve observed is the lack of paying attention to those we
interact with.

Seems like we need a manual to get through life: "5-Steps to This," "7-Steps to That." We continually seek training for our conscious journey but there is no training necessary in the spiritual realm. You just have to get there.

I’ve always liked the word “serendipity”
but never knew its origin. It comes from the fairy tale The Three
Princes of Serendip where the three princes were making accidental
discoveries while they were in search of something else.

I don’t want you to go cold on me
but I’m about to use the overused “Iceberg” analogy. Most of what we don’t know
lives below the surface. To stop crashing into things, we have to become aware
that they are there.

It seems most of our life we make
arguments against being where we are. We rarely stop and notice, or
acknowledge, our current location. This lack of admission causes all sorts of
false starts and continued frustration.

There is an advertising maxim that stands the
test of time: Reach & Frequency.
Reach represents the number of people in your audience and Frequency signifies
how often your message is seen or heard by them.

We all hold an image of who we
are. What we don’t realize is that it’s a false god. Your image is not you,
no more than your breath is you.Both are byproducts of our human existence but they are not you.

We've all given advice, some solicited, most not.I've come to learn it's better to be asked. And when delivering that requested advice, I find it more productive to come from the angle of experience rather than a position of your superior knowledge.

Seems we all have been deluded that there's not enough to go around. The biblical metaphor of the loaves and fishes shines a light on our limited thinking and opens us to the possibility of abundant options.

Do you remember the "Mood Ring"? It was a 1970s phenomenon: a ring with a stone that changed color based upon the temperature of the finger of the wearer. According to Wikipedia, most rings came with a color chart indicating the supposed mood of the wearer based upon the colors indicated on the ring.

There
are some actors that have one speed (Think Steven Seagal). That means they can
only play one type of role. They re-act their previous role in every subsequent
film they do. We are just like those uncreative actors every time we give the
same response to a given stimulus.

Change Your Behavior And Your Thoughts Will Change, Not The Other Way Around- Grasshopper

Seems we have it Bass Ackwards: "Change your thoughts and change your life" is one of the maxims we are offered. I believe that's an accurate statement, but it omits the step that precedes thought change: BEHAVIOR CHANGE.

I was talking with a friend the other day when she told me a story about her childhood. She was at the dinner table holding her baby brother when her mother poured soup in her bowl. The little brother in a flash reached for the bowl and scalded himself with the soup.

Are you forever on the lookout for the “one thing” – the one thing that’s going to change your life? You’re not alone. I’m sorry to be the one to break the news but the one thing is a fictitious thing.

I was talking to my friend Hali the other day and we were discussing people changing. I told her my friend Paul says that people don’t change. I also told her I agreed with that but I do believe they can evolve. She then squarely gobsmacked me with this: “You either evolve or you get louder.”

Do you know someone who walks into a room talking, oblivious of who’s in the room or what’s going on? I confess that I occasionally exhibited that behavior in the past. It took a 6-word question from someone to get me to recognize my lack of awareness and change it.

Just had a dream about being in a beach community and wanting to take a run along the water. But as I looked down I had on a shirt that didn't lend itself to running. I was too formal for what I wanted to do.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve waited a long time for something to happen that didn’t. What you may not have experienced yet is the realization that you no longer want it. It’s a bittersweet revelation.